SAN ANTONIO — A public hearing on VIA Metropolitan Transit's streetcar project Thursday marked a milestone for the agency, as it moves forward with an environmental analysis, a requirement if it's to secure federal funds for the 5.9-mile system.

Last week, the Federal Transit Administration told VIA the streetcar was accepted into project development, another major step in the quest for federal dollars.

San Antonio's is one of four streetcar projects across the country that are being considered for federal Small Starts funding in the president's Fiscal Year 2015 budget, which can be up to $75 million.

As part of the federal process, VIA must gather public input about the streetcar.

The meeting drew a significant number of opponents, many who continued a growing push to put the rail plan to a vote.

At Thursday's meeting, VIA asked attendees to submit written comments or give comments to court reporters.

That frustrated Michael Idrogo, who said VIA should have allowed people to speak publicly, and address the entire meeting.

He called the streetcar “a multimillion-dollar boondoggle” because the chosen route won't really help transit-users. The downtown system “starts nowhere and goes nowhere,” he said.

VIA's streetcar is estimated to cost $280 million. VIA has $210 million in local and state funds allocated to the project.

At least two people stood up and spoke against the streetcar plan, after a brief presentation about the project. One of them demanded to know why the plan hasn't been put to a vote, a question that was met with loud applause.

Last week, streetcar opponents announced the launch of a petition drive to amend the city charter to prohibit the use of city-owned rights-of-way for streetcar and light rail without voter approval.

Two men stood outside Temple Beth-El, where the meeting was held, collecting signatures and handing out fliers assailing the project. The temple management asked that no fliers be distributed inside the building.

Streetcar opponent Richard Slife stopped Heather Monroe and Shane Broussard as they walked into the meeting.

“Would like some information on what VIA's trying to hide from you?” Slife asked.

“I just want information,” Monroe replied, as she took a flier. Slife asked her another question, and Monroe said, “Oh, I'm for the streetcar,” as she walked inside.

Monroe and Broussard, who own and operate the Bike Waiter delivery service, like the idea of a system that will give people more transit options downtown besides using their cars. But they also want VIA to consider the needs and safety of cyclists as the rail system is planned.

As part of the streetcar environmental analysis, engineers will look at the impact of the project on a number of factors, including traffic, historic resources, noise levels, and socioeconomic and economic development.

VIA board Chairman Alex Briseño, who was appointed last week, said the streetcar is a challenging project but one that will help meet the goals of SA2020.

The permanency of rail will invite more investment, which will generate more property tax revenue — money he said will be invested back into the city, county and even school districts.

Comments on the streetcar project can be submitted to VIA through March 18, by mail, or by email to streetcar@viainfo.net.

Vianna Davila was born and raised in San Antonio. She graduated from Rice University with a bachelor's degree in English in 2002. That year, she was hired at the San Antonio Express-News as a reporter for what was then the paper's community news section, Neighbors. In 2005, she joined the Express-News metro reporting staff, covering crime for the next two and a half years. Vianna left the paper in 2007 to pursue her master's in journalism-documentary at the University of California at Berkeley. Her thesis film, "In His Blood," won the prize for best short documentary at the San Antonio Film Festival in 2009. Shortly after graduation from Berkeley, she returned to the Express-News to cover general assignments, the city's Spanish colonial missions and to produce videos for the paper's website. She covered transportation from 2011 to 2015, for which she was named Express-News Reporter of the Year in 2013. Vianna led the Express-News’ in-depth look at San Antonio’s rapid growth, an 18-month investigation that resulted in the six-part "The Next Million" story project in the summer of 2016. She is now covering city government, with a continued focus on growth and development. Vianna is also an adjunct journalism instructor at Texas State University in San Marcos.